One of my favorite weddings to shoot of 2015. Cozette and Chad are both very talented creatives and craftsmen from Los Angeles, returning home to Mustang to share a stunning backyard ceremony with family and friends. The details were built and styled by the bride and groom, and the intimate, personal, traditions-out-the-window event was incredibly special for everyone present.

I realize that these images barely scratch the surface of the “steampunk” look, but I’ve always been drawn by this style and really wanted to do a steampunk-inspired shoot. I have to give props to Catie Bartlett for shooting these with me! We had so much fun with the dark and whimsical theme, in a perfect, woodsy location, on a nice day in December.

I’m excited to launch a new blog category in 2013- vendor features! In order to make by blog more of a resource for my wedding fans, I’ll be profiling local vendors and showcasing some of their work! It’s a huge task to research all the businesses needed for a wedding, and even harder to get to know them all before making a decision. In these profiles, you’ll get answers strait from the pros to some frequently asked questions, and get to see some of their REAL work! Please let me know in the comments what types of vendors you’re interested in seeing profiles of!

I’m excited to bring you the profile of Adrianne of Pink Poppy Event Designs for my first vendor feature. This beautiful lady is a doll with whom I worked on Becca & Jake’s wedding in last year. If you’re still looking for a planner, check out her interview and photos of her work below! (Some of the photos feature work from Sooner Calligraphy.)

Meet Adrianne:

What made you decide to start planning weddings?

There is just something so magical about a bride and groom’s wedding day. When I got married I remember wishing I had more help navigating what felt like an overwhelming list of ideas and vendors. After helping several friends with their weddings I decided that perhaps this is what I wanted to when I grew up. Planning a wedding is so much fun, but it can be stressful. I hope to help brides and grooms plan their big day so their special day is truly unique and are all that the couple could dream of regardless of budget.

How would you explain the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator? Do you do both?

I think the primary difference is that a wedding planner will assist with a lot of the preliminary details such as vendor selection and overall event details. Wedding coordinators are often hired to coordinate wedding vendors and last minute details. The roles of both a planner and coordinator overlap, but just know a coordinator (Especially day or month of) is often just going to manage the vendors and choices you have already made. I do both, but I really prefer to take on the full wedding planning role because I like to make sure my brides us excellent vendors that I have worked with and trust.

Why should someone hire a planner?

I think the biggest reason a bride should hire a wedding planner is because planners have experience planning weddings. We have faced challenges and have experience with how best to handle problems as they come up. Planners will help with vendor selection, event styling and can greatly reduce the amount of stress along the way. I tell my brides my job is to help make this really fun, but at times stressful process a lot easier. I also tell them when you hire a wedding planner that means you and your family get to enjoy the big day, rather than “work” that day. Managing all the pieces that will make that dream wedding come together becomes my job and the wedding party can kick back and enjoy the big day.

What basic process do you go through with the bride (and groom) to nail down a style direction for their event?

I typically ask brides and grooms to tell me what they think about when they imagine their big day. Do they want to be barefoot on the beach? Do they want a formal black tie occasion? I have also pinned a lot of unique wedding looks on my Pinterest Boards so we look through those together to map out a style direction. I find inspiration all over from cooking books, to design magazines etc and I will create a custom Board for each of my brides if they are interested in that.
Some couples have a pretty specific idea of what they want, while others may have no idea. Is it better one way or the other for you as a planner?

I think it is fine either way. I remember when I planned my wedding years ago I just felt overwhelmed with narrowing down just one specific look. I liked so many. I have worked with many brides that struggled with the exact look too and we just kept pulling together ideas until we found the one that was just right.

Check out her website for more. Pink Poppy Event Design’s ad can be found in the next issue of Oklahoma City Perfect Wedding Guide.

Laura should go into wedding planning or something. Every single detail of this super-organized bride’s day was pure perfection, not to mention the awesome weather (not sure how they did that!), fun family and friends, and the fact that the camera loved this couple! The whole event was held on Daniel’s parents’ land in Thackerville, Oklahoma. They’d been busy all weekend setting up the whimsical entry way and stage that made me feel like I had stumbled into a flee market in Alice’s Wonderland.